PATRIOT ACT Section 311 ‘Finding of Primary Money Laundering Concern’

On Friday, October 25, 2019 the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act finding Iran to be a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern and imposing special measures prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from maintaining correspondent accounts for or on behalf of Iran. Separately on

On August 28, 2019 the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the launch of a Global Investigations Division (GID), which will be led by Matthew Stiglitz, a former Principal Deputy Chief in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Criminal Division. The GID replaces and expands on FinCEN’s Office of Special Measures (OSM),

On February 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a finding pursuant to Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act identifying ABLV Bank of Latvia as a “primary money laundering concern.” FinCEN also issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) under that section which, if adopted, would prohibit financial

On May 23, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed the dismissal of a challenge to the U.S. Treasury’s  use of Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act against Andorran bank Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) by the bank’s majority shareholders.

The court’s decision provides important support for Treasury’s use

On April 14, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia upheld the Treasury Department’s use of Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act to impose “special measures” with respect to Tanzanian Bank FBME, Ltd.

The court’s ruling allows the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to proceed with implementing a final

On September 20, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia again delayed implementation of a rule by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) branding FBME Bank Ltd. as a “primary money laundering concern” and effectively severing the foreign bank from the U.S. financial system. The rule, which would prohibit

On May 18, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN’s) motion to dismiss a civil action brought by shareholders of an Andorran privately-held bank, Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA), challenging FinCEN’s issuance of a Notice of Finding (NOF) identifying BPA as a “primary money